So I want to get some input here from everyone. I am about to make some big purchases on shelters and want to make sure I spend my money well and not end up with something that isn't going to work. I am not a thru-hiker by any mean but am a full on week-end warrior that likes to get out and cover lots of ground whenever and wherever possible. My wife enjoys hiking but hates lots of weight. I don't mind weight to a point and considering I will be carrying the bulk of the gear, I want to lighten up as much as I can. Then we have a little boy that I want to take with us on some trips. (Some he gets to go see grandma) So as far as shelters go I am leaning towards the freestanding options. I am not a huge fan of treking poles yet and my wife certainly wants the full enclosure and bug protection. Here are my other constraints.

1. REI Dividend2. Just signed up for the REI Visa which gives me a 100.00 gift card. (hopefully)3. Rei 20% off coming up soon.

(Not sure if I can combine these all to get a good deal or not.

4. 50% off to Sierra Designs.

All that being said I really like the Big Agnes line of tents. However, with 50% off to Sierra Designs I can't help looking at the Mojo 2 or 3. The problem with those is that I am having a hard time finding an reviews on them. Maybe they are so bad nobody has bought them?....? It would be nice to get the Mojo 3 for the family and then have a fly creek ul 2 for solo and trips with the wife.

Let me know what you guys think. Or point me in another direction if you see fit.

I would cash out your REI dividend and go to tarp tent and buy a cloudburst 3.

http://www.tarptent.com/cloudburst3.html. Rumoured price is around $300 and is 3lbs

Its 62 x 86 which is a little narrow for 3 but it has vertical walls which increases useable space compared to the Big Angnes offerings. It is single wall but for an additional 6 ounces you can get a liner to effectively make it a double wall.

Doing this would also leave you with your $100 of REI money to spend on lightening something else like your sleeping pad. You could get a neo air xlite regular for $28. 160*.8-100=28.

I have no experience with the sierra designs shelters.

As a disclaimer I have not owned any of the tents above. I did consider the copper spur and fly creek ul when searching for a 3 man tent and eventually went with a rainshadow from tarptent which was a great tent but I wanted more space for trips with 3 6 ft tall guys.

The Cloudburst may just be the ticket, it looks super roomy for three. I certainly agree with the Fly Creek ul3 I think I would only get a fly creek ul1 or ul2 as my solo tent. I know I can save weight going to a tarp setup for a solo shelter but I just like to have a fully enclosed tent if I am not in my hammock. I am going to keep an eye on the Clouburst.

I have 2 older SD tents (a Hyperlight 2 AST and a Velox 2) that I have kept on as car-camping tents. I think SD has always made quality gear (in terms of sewing, etc.) but has always been a little "off" on design. Most of their shelters are "almost perfect" with one or two features that never seem as good in practice as they probably did on paper. For example, the Hyperlight has a lot of floorspace, but is roughly diamond-shaped, forcing a little pad overlap in the foot area. I can't say that is true for the Mojo, but it is a generalization that fits.

I also can get a discount on a major-label gear manufacturer and this occasionally makes me buy gear that is great but not necessarily what I would buy if money didn't matter. It's a nice problem to have.

Can you buy a Mojo online from a shop where you can return it? Even if you're out some shipping costs, I'd want to test that design before committing to it as my primary shelter. If you are set on a free-standing shelter, the BA tents seems proven. Also, check out the REI Quarter Dome line. Amy Lauterbach (who posts here regularly and has done some amazing trekking around the world) uses an Quarter Dome REI 2. There's even a plus+ length version that might get you enough room to add your kid.

I will have to look more into the REI Quarter Dome Tents, Originally I hadn't looked at them because I figured they were significantly heavier but honestly don't even know the weight. Money certainly can be a constraint in these circumstances. Unfortunately I can only use the 50% off on Sierra Designs Website and they require all returns to be in like new condition. I don't know how much testing I can really do in my living room haha. Thanks for the insight

I own a fly creek ul3 and a ul1. The tents are extremely well made and I am extremely satisfied with them. With that being said, I consider the ul3 to be a palace for one and I primarily use this for car camping. Two can sleep in this comfortably and three bodies in this tent would not happen. I have been using the ul1 for ul trips but have been yearning for more space. The steep slopes make a significant amount of the footprint unusable except for laying down. Luckily I have not had to spend any significant amount of time in this tent waiting out a storm. For this reason I have decided to purchase a tarptent moment dw. I sincerely understand the economic reasons for some our decisions but considering that there are always a lot of tents floating around on gear swap that you could always pick up a good deal there. Good luck!

Thanks for the solid info on the fly creek series. I have been watching all the videos they have and reading reviews and most say the same thing you have said about the steep sides. Now I have started wondering about the Go-lite Imogenes as well, but of course the Imogene 2 is "out of stock" was it ever in stock? If so it went fast.

So in my search for a new shelter set up I was browsing REI in hopes to use the 20% off towards a new tent. I noticed that my local REI is having a used gear sale tomorrow. Having never been to one I am wondering if anyone knows the chances of finding a decent shelter there would be. Maybe a Big Agnes Fly Creek, Seedhouse, or Copper Spur like I had listed above.